Making a Match for Seattle Pipe Club's Mississippi River

[thomnas]

I thought it would be a good idea to try to come up with a match tobacco for seattle pipe club's mississippi river as a group.
Here is what I get when I smoke it. Please add on to this, stating the specific ingredient/process you think is used.
Virginia tang is very present

Oriental notes are very present

- note of perique (spice)

- notes of latakia. This is more so on the finish.
First I get the Virginia tang, then the floral notes from the orientals with dash of perique, then a slight latakia favour on the finish.
- tangy Virginia base

- a lot of orientals

- dash of perique

- dash of latakia
Melded together ever so gently to produce a unique flavour with the main players (virginias and orientals) being obvious. With the finish it produces a distinct barbecued hot-dog smell and flavour.

- I'm gonna assume this melding is accomplished through using a press.

 

[iamn8]

Just bought a few large tins of the stuff. It's a seriously good smoke! I smoke it with a Dunhill group 4 billiard. I'm not exactly sure why, one of those strange things I suppose, but the billiard in a Cumberland finish "feels" like my most southern pipe ::

 

[thomnas]

Thanks for the welcome.
Ya, it's quite incredible. I love the flavour profile of it.
I've sort of determined what i'll need to attempt a match.
I was smoking some lancer's slices today and if the virginias used in that were tangy and some orientals were thrown in, then i think it would be something very similar to mississippi river.
Can anyone suggest a very tangy virginia, a very floral/fragrant/falvourful oriental, and a smokey (but not too smokey) and slightly spicy latakia?

 

[wyfbane]

Welcome to the forums!
May I inquire as to why you want to match this? Is it unavailable to you otherwise?

 

[thomnas]

I mostly just want to get into blending. This is my starting point. I think it would be really neat to be able to blend my own tobacco for my own consumption.

 

[wyfbane]

If ever you are in Washington, try to make it to one of the Seattle Pipe Club meetings. Often Joe Lankford is there himself and he would likely give you good advice.
My palatte I fear is not discerning enough to blend my own. I wish you luck on your quest.

 

[aldecaker]

That is a very ambitious starting point! Unfortunately, I've only smoked it once as a sample a friend sent me, so I can't really help with that blend. Best of luck, though. I know I like experimenting with home-brew blends.

 

[thomnas]

I'm curious to try the tudor castle arcade blend by mcclelland. Their tudor castle is VERY similar to mississipp river, though without the added latakia. the arcade version of tudor castle has syrian latakia, though having tried 3 oaks syrian, the latakia might be too subtle.

 

[andrew]

The advice I'd give, not to discourage you but maybe just try to create your own blend, SPC's MR came to the blender in a dream and it took him something like 5 years to get it right. Then you need to press it and then try to work out what it's topped with. Not to discourage you I just think you're starting with a pretty big project.

 

[thomnas]

Hi Andy, thanks.
I don't want to replicate mississippi river to the 't', i just want similar flavours.
here is my recipe so far:

- base of mcclelland's 5100 (tangy base)

- cornell snd diehl's izmir (spice + floral) - a little more than a dash

- gawith and hoggarth latakia (tangy bbq+smoke) - just a dash

- maybe perique (read it dulls down tongue-bite) - just a dash
it's not a scientific process for me yet in terms of what quantities to use.
i'm gonna make several small batches with variations, pressing each one for 2 weeks in my poor-man's tobacco presses made of c clamps and tuna cans :D
i'll go from there and journal everything.

 

[thomnas]

Also, Andy, what do you mean by "topped with"? is MR topped with a casing? what kind of toppings do blenders usually use for tobaccos of the latakia variety?

 

[thomnas]

Thinking Mac baren's HHS old dark fired ready rub could be a substitute for the Latakia component as it's not so ashy tasting as Latakia, but more meaty. It's also quite spicy, so hopefully that will be toned down and may replace the perique component as well,

 

[thomnas]

First kake out. Almost scary how similar the notes, bowl smell, colour + smell of the kake, and aftertaste are to mississippi river.
It's called "sweetened meat kake" as the sweetness comes back and forth in-beween the exceptional tang that mixes with the pinch of latakia to give a meaty taste. The kake gets better and better the lower into the bowl i get.
It does 't have orientals, but just a pinch would make it even more interesting.

 

[okiescout]

My palatte I fear is not discerning enough to blend my own. I wish you luck on your quest.
Ditto, Wyfbane!

 

[iamn8]

So glad you loved it as well. I'm fairly certain you'll not be a fan of Ravens Wing, but at least you'll be able to check it off your list and/or pass it on

 

[settersbrace]

Mashing a bunch of proprietary blends together can create its own set of problems and often times ends in disaster. Each blender always uses some type of casing (usually a secret) and sometimes a topping. Start mixing all those together and you might end up with a sardine and jelly sandwich. If your dead set on doing some personal blending I'd suggest saving yourself a pile of money and frustration and just get some primary ingredient leaf. Anything you can desire is available by itself, you can then carefully record your blending steps and proportions. Knowing that MR has VA's, Orientals (a catch all) and Latakia (another oriental), you can start with a straight VA base and add some Basma, Samsun, etc.

I place tobacco blenders on the same level as Master Chefs, and deservedly so given the investment and dedication. What little experience I have messing around with "customizing" established blends has been hit or miss. The only real home run I ever hit was filling a jar with tin leavings and letting it sit for a year. Lol
Best wishes on your blending experiments, the above ingredient list looks promising.

 

[thomnas]

MR has mclelland 5100, 5105, izmir, perique and cyprian latakia. the latakia dulls the sweet in the 5100 and th 5105, the 5105 gives the smoke body, the perique combines with the fruitness (izmir and 5100+5105) to give a fruity spice burn and a bitter taste that combines with the sour mouth taste to produce the distinct taste of MR. after smoking it, the latakia mixed in becomes a little more apparent as the perique bitterness subsides.
I've almost identically matched the flavour profile, though i've come to a serious conclusion that the tobacco is for sure cased with something that amps and lulls the izmir's sour and dulls everything else. the sour is not from the VAs, but from the izmir. there is an artificial quality to the sourness MR produces that can only mean it's cased. it's sort of like a constant stream of very low-heat steam that remains until the bowl baccy gets dry passed the half-bowl mark. smelling MR after having been jarred up and the vinegar smell subsiding, there is an insanely strong smell of an artificial sugary-fruitiness that is undeniable. MR itself is also incredibly moist and crumbly - that's not a quality of a non-cased, pressed tobacco. The moisture from the 5100 is not enough to cause this after having been pressed. I've also noticed how ashy MR gets in taste nearing the end of the bowl. that's the casing gunk burning.
What would a mass-producer of tobacco case/top their tobacco with to keep it moist and that can produce this intense sugary scent, though not really lend a strong sugary taste to the smoke?

 

[lestrout]

Yo tho
I recall MissRiv has had 2 different manufacturers, although presumably from the same recipe. Still, different blending houses would have different equipment, environment and maybe sources of leaf. Which tin(s) are you working from?
hp

les

 

[thomnas]

I'm working from the 2015 tins (june).

 

[thomnas]

who are the manufacturers?